


The Test

by Hours_Gone_By



Series: AU Yeah AUgust 2020 [15]
Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers Generation One, Transformers – All Media Types
Genre: AU Yeah August 2020, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Magic, Alternate Universe – Wizards, Final Exams, Gen, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hours_Gone_By/pseuds/Hours_Gone_By
Summary: Mirage had learned magic as part of his education as a scion of the Towers of Crystal City, starting in his adolescence. He had learned how to make the delicate summoning patterns of crystal, chalk, and powder, to speak the words with diction worthy of a High Priest, the graceful yet precise motions of casting.He had not learned how to deal with a self-taught wizard like Wheeljack.
Series: AU Yeah AUgust 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860307
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	The Test

**Author's Note:**

> Written for AU Yeah AUgust Day 16. Prompt: Magic.

Mirage had learned magic as part of his education as a scion of the Towers of Crystal City, starting in his adolescence. He had learned how to make the delicate summoning patterns of crystal, chalk, and powder, to speak the words with diction worthy of a High Priest, to perform the graceful yet precise motions of casting.

He had not learned how to deal with a self-taught wizard like Wheeljack.

Mirage had seen the workshops of his instructors in the thaumaturgical arts, of course. They had been organized, tidy, even elegant. Everything had been neatly ordered and labelled, easy for anyone of any talent level to find simply by walking in. Wheeljack's workshop was…not. Parts of it even seemed to spill out into the living and dining areas, with scrolls and bottles of chemicals or powders clustered onto flat surfaces. In the workshop itself, the work surfaces were cleaned and purified at least, but there seemed to be little to no organization. Mirage was honestly baffled as to how Wheeljack managed to work anything in such a chaotic environment. It seemed impossible that someone so disorganized could be as skilled as he'd been told. And yet his tutor, Highcoil, had sent him to the mech. Wheeljack must be capable, even if he hadn't had formal training. How precisely being self-taught qualified one to administer final exams to a student Mirage was unclear, yet – well. Mirage had the training, but he was not a wizard. Magic use was not innate for him as it was for some others, and he was somewhat limited in what he could do. Perhaps it was merely something he didn't yet understand.

"Alright!" Wheeljack exclaimed, clearing some foils with arcane formulas scribbled on them off a nearby stool, upon which he sat. "Let's see what you can do!"

Mirage nodded and stepped up to the central worktable, which seemed the most likely candidate for where Wheeljack wanted him to work. "What would you like to see?"

"Ah," Wheeljack said carelessly. "Whatever you like. Show me your best working. Grab whatever you need from the cabinets."

Mirage nodded again, honestly not sure what response to make to that, and approached the cluttered cabinets above the counter at the back of the room with trepidation. He had something in mind, but he wasn't sure that he would be able to find what he needed among this…disorganization. He'd also expected to get more direction, but perhaps that too was part of the test?

Mirage hid his hesitation by pretending to study the shelves, but finally, his optic landed on the powdered corundum he needed. Then, the silver wasn't too far over from that, nor was the chalk, and suddenly the chaos sorted itself into order, and he could see Wheeljack's method. After that, it was easy to pick out the rest of what he needed, though, really, the ground onyx was just for aesthetics. Mirage returned to the worktable and began to lay out his runes and circle. Wheeljack observed but didn't react or offer any input. Not yet, at least.

The working Mirage chose was a summoning of a basic elemental. The runes and shapes were complicated to create, and wording had to be precise, but while such creatures were tricky to call up, they were relatively simple to control once you had them. Mirage called up a temporary servant, put it through its paces, and thanked and dismissed it before breaking the working and clearing the energy. He cleaned up the spell components and put the containers back, then turned to Wheeljack to argue his choice or receive his grade.

Wheeljack looked thoughtful for a moment, then sat back and shook his head. "Nope."

Mirage frowned, confused. "Pardon?"

"I'm not gonna give you a grade on that," Wheeljack clarified.

Mirage was too well trained to let his shock show on his face. "I'm afraid I don't understand. Was there a problem with the ritual I performed?"

Wheeljack shook his head again. "No, it was flawless. But it was also way below your talent level. I want to see you do something that uses all your talent."

Mirage felt slightly annoyed. If Wheeljack had a specific class of spell in mind, why hadn't he said so?

"But," Wheeljack continued, as he stood and headed to a closed cabinet on the other side of the room, "I get the feeling that's 'cause you haven't been given anything that's really at your level."

Mirage finally felt the need to protest. "I've received the highest levels of magical education available to anyone without innate magical ability."

"Yeah, I know," Wheeljack said, rifling through the cabinet. "Like I said, way below your talent level. I'm not surprised Highcoil sent you to me."

"But – I did the tests," Mirage pointed out, starting to feel a little lost. "In my early adolescence. I was within the normal range for talent."

"Uh-huh. Ever get re-tested?"

"No, of course not. Everyone knows that you'll develop your talent by adolescence or not at all."

"'Everyone knows' are dangerous words," Wheeljack commented. "Ah! Here's what I was looking for."

Wheeljack turned back to Mirage, knocking the cabinet door shut with his elbow. He was holding a battered box etched with glyphs and runes that Mirage recognized as Old High Cybertronian. It looked a little like the testing kit Mirage remembered from his early adolescence, but this was no mass-produced item. Not if it was as old as it looked.

"You're going to test me again?" Mirage asked, frowning.

"Yup!" Wheeljack said cheerfully. "Here." He set the box on the worktop Mirage had just cleared. "Set it up."

That was usually the examiner's job, but Mirage had no reason to argue with Wheeljack's instruction, and he was beginning to be curious about where this was going. So he opened the box and began to set up the test as he remembered it having been set up for him stellar-cycles ago. Only, there were more components than he remembered there being, and they weren't ones he'd seen before. They seemed more advanced even than anything he'd used in his lessons and yet… Mirage lost track of time, lost his awareness of the other mech in the room as he worked on creating the structure for the test.

When it was finally done, Mirage just stared at it for a moment, not quite believing it could be finished. It was larger than the test he'd done, more intricate it – it was…

"What," Mirage stopped, reached out a hand as if to touch the structure he'd built. "What is it?"

"You tell me."

"It's magic," Mirage could feel that. He didn't know how anyone could _not_ feel it. "But – I've been around magic before. I've _done_ magic before, I – "

"Innate magic users can do any kind of magic," Wheeljack said conversationally. "But if you were only taught what non-innate users can learn, you'd never know you can do anything else."

Mirage finally managed to tear himself away from the testing structure and meet Wheeljack's optics.

"Yeah," Wheeljack said with a slight nod. "Tests aren't everything, Mirage, and not every talent manifests at the same time."

"Highcoil never…" Mirage shook his head a little, confused. "Was building this the test?"

"Can you see anything more to do with it?"

"Well, yes, but it doesn't seem like that could be a test," Mirage said, and drew a simple glyph in the silver he'd poured into a shallow dish in the centre, sending thaumaturgical power through the structure and sending it spinning above the table in intricate patterns. "It's too simple."

"There are other ways to get it going, though."

"Several, but they're all more complicated than they need to be. Once you look at it and see the pattern, it's," Mirage trailed off and was silent for a few nano-kliks. "Obvious," he finished finally.

"Yup, they are," Wheeljack agreed. "But you've got to have magical talent to see that. The innate kind."

"But – I can't – "

"Yeah?" Wheeljack prompted.

"I can't just leave after this!" Mirage burst out. "Highcoil's already said he can't teach me any more. I can't stop at _this_!"

"Don't think Highcoil expected you to," Wheeljack said, back to being cheerful. "I've been looking for a new apprentice. What d'you say?"

"Yes," Mirage said immediately, as quickly as if on some level he'd been waiting to answer that question all his life.

"Fantastic!" Wheeljack exclaimed, and rubbed his hands together. "Let's get started."

Mirage could hardly wait. "Yes," he agreed immediately. "Let's."

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
> 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> Author Responses: This author replies to comments. If you don't want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with "whisper," and I will appreciate it but not respond.


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